A Story of Grace Part 2: Small Town
by thatblue
Summary: It was just a small town, but there were these angels and well...some people said they could move. It couldn't be, right? Follows A Story of Grace Part 1: The Circle but can be read alone.
1. Chapter 1

"Did you know," Grace challenged again, "That if you poke a Loom in its right eye and then its left that it will offer to bake you bread."

The Doctor let out a chuckle, forgetting the serious face he had managed the rest of the game. He looked up at Grace. "Why would you do that?"

Grace shook her head, ignoring his question. "That's not what I asked. I asked if you knew." She crossed her arms and tried to look stern.

"No," the Doctor conceded, making Grace the winner of today's game. "We may need to talk about your manners though."

Donna had opted out of today's game of _Did you Know, _leaving just the Doctor and Grace to spout of facts until they finally found something the other didn't know. She was now sitting in a chair holding her book. She had given reading a good try, but the book laid open on her lap, because she had become engrossed in their game. "That's all you, you know?" She told the Doctor, her voice playful.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at his wife, his face holding an excellent resemblance to surprise. "Me? I have perfect manners."

Donna laughed, and stood and walked over to her husband. "You know what she has seen her whole life?"

"I…" the Doctor protested.

Donna continued though, "I'll tell you what. She has seen her father, which is you, in case you forgot, playing a never ending game of _I wonder what would happen if I blank. _And in that blank you can insert something that maybe..just maybe shouldn't be done, but you do it anyway. And now she does too. So again. All you." Donna turned her head to her daughter. "But I wouldn't trade either of you for the world. And I could, I've had offers, just so you know."

The Doctor pulled her close and kissed her lips before he let go and looked at Grace. "Perfect manners." Donna glared and he continued, "So my lovely winner, where are we going, then?"

Winner of the game always got to pick where they would go that day. The Doctor would have taken them anywhere they asked, but Grace thought this way was more fun. Donna had been yesterday's winner with a fact about a turkey man, and had chosen to go to Labros. Grace had insisted that they have a dinner date and that she would go explore. He and Donna had taken turns being nervous wrecks but she had returned to them safe, with a mischievous smile on her face. A smile he now attributed to eye poking and bread eating.

"Earth," Grace decided quickly.

"Always a good choice," the Doctor commented. "Any particular year?"

"2011," she replied and the Doctor looked up.

"Ok," he was studying her, wondering if she had something up her sleeve. "Anywhere specific?"

"Middle of the USA? Let's say southern Missouri."

Donna looked at Grace now also, "Grace?"

"You said it was my choice," she looked away, a sure sign she wasn't being completely honest.

The Doctor reached in his coat pocket for his physic paper but came up empty. "Where's my paper, Grace?"

She gave a non-committal shrug and he sighed. He wasn't mad at her, certain that she had a good reason but he wanted to know what it was. She looked back up and tossed it to him. Catching it easily, he opened it and a large part of him wished he hadn't. With just two words, he felt his hearts flood with fear. **Stone Angels**. He showed it to Donna who turned to Grace.

"You're not going," he and Donna told her at the same time.

She didn't back down, "I am, I'm old enough to decide if something is too dangerous for me."

He wanted to use a line about being under his roof, but he knew that she would just go on her own if he tried to stop. If she was going to be out there, he wanted her close enough to protect. "All right." Donna turned back to him.

"Doctor?"

He reached for her hand, and lowered his voice. "You know her, Donna. She's us… do you think she is going to stay here?"

Donna shook her head. "Okay."

The Doctor figured out the coordinates and parked the TARDIS. The three of them stepped out of it, to an empty street. The sign announced it as Main Street but there wasn't anyone around. The Doctor began to walk towards the first business he came too, Donna following but Grace tried to walk in the opposite direction. Without turning around he spoke to her. "Not happening. You get to play follow the leader today."

She sighed but turned around, following her mother and father. If she could have seen what she would have walked into, she would have been grateful that he had made her.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor looked back and forth down the street and then walked over to a clothing store. He raised his hands blocking out the light and stuck his head up to the window. When he didn't see anyone he reached for the door handle but wasn't surprised to find it locked. He knew this was small town, but there should be someone around here, right? He reached for his sonic, pulling it out and setting to work. Behind him he could hear Donna talk to Grace in a low but audible voice.

"Breaking into stores is included in perfect manners."

Grace let out a soft chuckle. When he heard the door click he turned to look at two of the three ladies in his life- the TARDIS being the third. "Necessity." He offered in defense of himself, though he knew she was only joking. He pointed to Grace with his screwdriver, "And I'll have you know that she can do the same thing without a sonic device." He smiled at Grace who stood in silence but smiled back.

Donna shrugged. "I didn't teach her that."

"I'm just saying that maybe there is another culprit," The Doctor opened the door and stepped in, with Donna and Grace following him.

"You can't blame everything on Jack," Grace said quietly, not wanting to break the silence in the empty store.

"Can try," the Doctor argued moving forward looking at everything as he passed. He looked at them. "Kind of quiet?"

"Bad quiet," Grace agreed, but as soon as she said the words they heard a noise from behind the counter. There was a swinging door there, and the Doctor lifted his screwdriver and stepped forward.

"You two wait here," he instructed, knowing that they both would just do whatever they wanted. Still, he had to try.

He didn't make it farther than two steps when an object came stumbling out from the door hitting the counter in its fall and hit the floor with a thud. He was reassured that at the very least this was not an Angel. The Doctor gave them a hard look, and was relieved that they seemed to be letting him take the lead on this. He took another step and the figure popped back up holding a gun in the Doctors face.

"Jack," the Doctor scolded.

"Sorry," Jack lowered the gun quickly. "I thought that you were Angels."

"So you thought, hmm…I'll just run/fall out there with my gun?"

He looked to Grace and Donna who were unfazed but both wearing a slightly amused smile. He loved them more than he thought he would ever be lucky enough to feel again, but sometimes they made him crazy.

"And you thought a screwdriver was a better option," Jack challenged. "I don't see any shelves that need put up."

The Doctor opened his mouth to defend his sonic when Donna stepped between the two. "Easy boys," She waited until Jack re-holstered his weapon and pulled him into a hug. "It's good to see you Jack. A surprise, but good, right Doctor?"

The Doctor relented under his wife's gaze, "Always good." Jack gave him a quick hug, the moment before forgotten easily.

"Hi Grace," Jack gave her a wide smile. He moved to hug her and she let him, but only raised one arm and patted his back twice before she pulled back. Jack's face was puzzled. He was charming, had pheromones and such, but she was unfazed. When did the love come? And why did he get a man-hug?

The Doctor found his daughters lack of interest in Jack a comfort, but knew the day was coming when that would end. The future her had told them such, after she was rescued on Fair. "Why are you here, Jack? Stone Angels aren't quite your normal lot."

Jack held up his hands and shrugged. "A lot of people have vanished. A got a call a couple of days ago; they thought that maybe I could be of use here."

"And you sent the message, "Grace asked.

"Yes."

"So you knew that we were coming and still drew a gun on us?"

"I didn't know when," Jack complained.

It was the Doctor that interrupted this time, "So you think that all these disappearances are Angels? Have you seen the Angels?" The Doctor hoped that he hadn't and maybe there was still a chance this was something else.

"I know the disappearances are Angels. And yes, they are everywhere. That's why there is no one in town, except good ol' me."

"Lucky us," Grace muttered and the Doctor forgot to fight the smile. Sometimes she could be so much like Donna, all fire and emotion, and other times like him, steady and withdrawn. But most of the time she was just an unruly combination of both, like now.

Jack's looked hurt, and the Doctor felt a little sorry for him. They had to go years after meeting Grace, to actually have her, but they got to watch her grow into the person she was. Jack had a future before him that this Grace knew nothing of, and it was painful. "All right, can you take me to the Angels?"

Jack nodded, "I'm sure there are some just next door. Heard moving about, and know for a fact that the owner is barricaded in his home."

This was the point when Jack would normally make a joke that wasn't appropriate but he didn't do that around, Grace. The Doctor realized he kind of missed it, hating to see Jack so tamed by waiting.

"Maybe you two should go wait in the TARDIS," Jack suggested, not seeing the Doctor shaking his head trying to warn him.

He waited to see who would come undone first. Donnas' mouth was open but Grace stepped closer to him. "Maybe who should go wait in the TARDIS? I believe that we are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. And if I remember, and I always remember, I saved your butt when you were fighting that big purple thing on Sunsho"

"Right," Jack said softly moving towards the door, "Sorry."

Donna looked at the Doctor with a wide smile, "Still all you."

He laughed and followed Jack out the door keeping his voice low, "I tried to warn you."


	3. Chapter 3

When they stopped outside the Doctor turned to Grace and held her shoulders gently, but firmly, and looked her in the eye. "I know that you have knowledge of these Angels but that can't ever replace experience. No matter what, Grace, you don't take your eyes off them. And they can never touch you."

Grace raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Dad. I promise."

He released her and Jack moved to her side. The Doctor took out the sonic and unlocked the door. He opened it with a breath and the group walked in. There were two Angels facing the wall of the store they had just come from, only inches away. There were three facing them, arms raised but it looked more like a stretch than an attack.

"Doctor," Donna murmured her voice worried, eyes on Grace.

The Doctor looked over at his daughter staring at the Angels, head tilted just slightly, deep in thought. "Right, well we've seen them, so let's back out of here…and most likely run."

The three moved towards the door, backing out, eyes never leaving the Angels, but Grace didn't move.

"Grace," Jack whispered. "Come on."

When she still didn't move the Doctor stepped forward grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. At the door though, with one hand on the door handle the other holding hers, he felt her resist again. He started to say something, but she still had the thoughtful look on her face. "What is it, Grace."

She didn't look at him, "Do you trust me, Dad?"

His forehead wrinkled as he thought. Oh, he knew the answer, but for all that Grace had seen in her short amount of years there were so many things he had shielded her from. Including these Angels and he knew that she couldn't know what she was getting into. But there was only one option, he did, always would. "Yes."

She swallowed in a worried gulp, "They seem like their waiting don't they?"

He looked at them again, going past just seeing their forms. He saw what she meant; the Angels by the wall must have heard them and could have been over there in seconds flat. The wall wouldn't have been an obstacle. "You think they are waiting…for like a command? They don't exactly follow orders."

"No," she agreed, her voice tight with thought. "How long do you think it would take for them to get to us? Like five seconds?"

"Yeah," he agreed, fear filling him as he understood what she was asking. "This isn't a good idea, Grace."

He knew she smiled, he could feel her fingertips against his skin pouring out fear and excitement. "Close your eyes."

"Grace," Jack and Donna said at the same time.

"No, sweetheart. Let's go." Donna pleaded with her daughter.

"It's okay," Grace reassured. "Close your eyes. Five seconds. Then open them again."

The Doctor knew he should argue, but he didn't. He had all the faith in the world in this girl. "Okay."

"Now," she ordered. And he did, both holding their breaths. One, Two, Three, Four, Five and open. The Angels were still in the same spot.

"Why didn't they attack?"

"Who cares," Donna pulled them out with force and Jack shut the door when they were clear. She pulled them into a tight embrace and then pushed them back and glared. "What were you thinking? Are you both crazy?"

Grace tried to look serious but her face broke out in a smile, the Doctor looked to her and grinned also. They both laughed, a laugh that was equal parts thankful for being alive, and the way Donna looked at them. "Sorry, Mom." Grace pacified.

"And you," she poked the Doctor in the chest, but he was thankful the slapping days were long gone, although he suspected she would find one in her if he didn't drop the smile. "You've got that great big brain; you would think you would have used it."

"It's my fault," Grace argued, always protecting him, when he was just as much to blame. He may have been her protector but she was his defender.

Donna sucked in a breath, "I'm just glad you guys are okay, so why didn't they attack then?"

"What do you think they are waiting on, Grace?" Jack asked, moving in closer now that the anger wouldn't be thrown at him in passing.

"It's like their waiting on an order. Someone to tell them to, you know?"

The three nodded their heads in agreement. "But they don't follow orders, Grace." The Doctor reminded.

"There is a first time for everything… maybe we should split up. They don't seem to be too feisty at the moment."

"Okay," the Doctor agreed.

"I'll go with Grace." Jack volunteered with a bit too much enthusiasm. The Doctor gave him a fatherly stare.

"Fine," he said. "Grace, don't every under estimate them. They are more dangerous than even my memories can show you."

She nodded. "I'll be safe. You two better be too. Meet here in an hour?"

The Doctor nodded reluctantly, "One hour, and Jack you better take care of her. If anything happens, I'll hold you responsible."

"Yes, sir," Jack gave a salute but his face said that he understood.

"Relax," Grace muttered. As she turned to leave she gave them a quick glance. "Love you, guys."

"And we love you," Donna returned and they watched them walk away.

When they were far enough away the Doctor turned to Donna. "Do I have to accept this?"

Donna chuckled. "She could do worse, you know."

"Really?" the Doctor asked even though it was true. Jack wasn't the man the Doctor met so many years ago. And he certainly adored Grace.

"Yes, you're just being a father. No one will ever be good enough." She said wisely.

"Got that right," the Doctor agreed and pulled Donna into a hug.

She smelled like shampoo and sunlight, and he could think of a million things he would like to do with her, if he didn't have to save the world and meet his daughter in an hour. "Mrs. Noble, I think I have a wonderful idea for tonight." His chest rumbled with desire. Horrible timing but she did that to him.

She smiled. "We better get busy then." She turned and started walking down the street. "Oh, if it involves your red tie, it is so your turn."

He chuckled and jogged to catch up with her, sliding his hand into hers.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack walked next to Grace slowly, and in the silence, and he knew that he wouldn't be the one to break it. When she offered him her hand, he took it gladly, wishing that it meant more, wishing that he could pretend that it meant more, but he knew that she wasn't there yet. She held his hand because it was comfortable for her, because her father held hands like it was going out of style. But he loved it, loved her, and had since the first night she laid on his chest, broken and hiding. It had been twenty five years from that moment to this one and he was still waiting. But waiting he could do: Time he had, patience could be found, it was only moments like this, when she looked at him, eyes kind but shallow that it broke his heart.

Holding her hand was an interesting experience, especially since the Doctor had been working on her psychic abilities, as her finger tips pulsed with gently energy.

"Why have you been so weird lately?" She asked of him, her voice could almost pass for American even next to his, if you weren't really listening. It was a melody- like gentle rain on a roof.

"Weird?"

She stopped and looked at him and he couldn't breathe for a second. "Like you're holding back?"

"I don't understand," but he did.

"You used to joke around. You told inappropriate jokes at horrible times. I would laugh, Mom smiled, Dad pretended he was mad. But this last year you just haven't." Her gaze was intent, her words sure.

"You're a young lady; I don't want to offend you."

Her laugh echoed in the emptiness. "Please, you have been like that since I can remember. Dad used to tell me that you like to dance although I stopped listening when I realized he meant sex."

It was Jacks turn to laugh, "I don't know…maybe I have changed."

She shook her head. "Don't. It's not you. Weird"

She started to walk again, the pace so slow they could have just been enjoying a stroll in town. She didn't seem to be looking around either, focusing only on the road ahead of them.

"Shouldn't we be investigating…at the very least getting into trouble."

She smiled but didn't look at him, "Do you trust me, Jack?"

Those five words were as scary as five seconds, maybe more. He knew that this couldn't be leading to anything good. His mouth answered ignoring his mind that was screaming at him not to. "Yes."

"Good," she rolled her eyes to him, but didn't turn her head. She tightened her grip and he could feel a change in the pulse. "See you soon."

He didn't have a chance to ask her what she meant. A strong arm wrapped around his chest holding him tight and another hand pushed a wet cloth to his nose and mouth. He saw Grace slipping but caught by arms that he couldn't see, and he faded into the dark.

The Doctor and Donna had been walking down the middle of the road trying to piece together the mystery of this situation when they saw a figure walk in front of them and stop. The Doctor stopped too, with an unpleasant feeling in his chest. Donna stopped next to him, and frowned at his worried face.

_It's okay_

He pushed the thought into her mind. "Hello," He forced the words to come out brightly.

"Oh, I'm so very glad that you're here, Doctor."

"You know me, then?"

"New face doesn't make you impossible to find. Don't you recognize me, though?"

The man stepped closer so that the Doctor wasn't looking into the sun and found that he did know him. "Slin Ravern, I brought down your empire September 13, 2159 on the planet Onyx"

"That wasn't a good day for me, Doctor."

"I won't apologize for stopping you," the Doctor replied.

"We aren't here for apologizes," Slin gave a hard smile, his face humanoid but eyes black as ink. "No, we are here to even the score a bit."

The Doctor looked at Donna, "TARDIS, go"

She nodded but two large men had moved behind them and pushed her forward again. "I don't think so, Doctor. You brought her into this world; I want you to see the damage you cause those you meet."

The Doctor looked to the man behind him, his voice low, "Don't you touch her." He looked back to Slin. "You brought the Angels then?"

Donna's hand slipped back into his, _He's just trying to hurt you. I love you, I love our life._

He nodded his tense acknowledgment to her, feeling his hearts break.

"Yes, that is my doing. I made a call to your friend, Jack, I think. I knew that you would be the one he brought in."

The Doctor ignored the statement. "How did you get them to come here?"

"I promised them the town…A town for my empire; I think that will do nicely."

"These are innocent people," Donna argued.

"I think you will find I don't care," Slin smiled, his teeth as black as his eyes.

"How did you get them to work for you? That's not what they do."

"Well, I have to say Doctor you are very calm right now. Did finding love tame you so much you won't fight for this town? As far as control, I have to keep some things a secret."

"I will stop you," the Doctors voice was a growl.

"Oh, that's more like the man I knew. Tell you what, you hurting is all I'm really after, so I will make you a deal. I'll take the Angels far away and the rest of the town lives…if…"

"If?"

"If you sacrifice your wife or your daughter. Just one or the other and everyone else lives. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me."

"You will never touch the people I love," the Doctor warned.

"The Oncoming Storm still lives. Good, that ought to make this more fun. Just one life for hundreds Doctor. One little loss to save so many. It should be an easy choice."

Donna's hand was overly warm in his, and he almost cried when she told him. _Save Her._


	5. Chapter 5

_Dad _

The word was soft and calm in his head. He frowned because her psychic abilities were strangely enough, strongest when she wasn't conscious, which was why no one had bad dreams around her. If she was leaking through at this moment that meant that she wasn't awake and he felt the anger reach boiling point. They had been man-handled into an office and tied to metal chairs and across from them sat Slin, black teeth showing in a wide smile.

"My daughter." It wasn't a question, his voice icy.

"Oh, no worries, she's fine for the moment."

"She's unconscious," he growled.

"Interesting that you can tell that, but I'm a man of my word. She will wake soon and will be safe until you decide."

The Doctor looked at Donna, "She'll be okay. I'll get us out of this."

"Well," Slin began losing the smile. "We know that you will save the town, which will be a disappointment to the Angels but they will get over it. So which will it be then, Wife or Daughter? The one who saved you are the one who changed you. Your wife has certain advantages, I must say." His eyes rolled down Donnas' body and the Doctor pulled against his ropes. "But your daughter, well she's your child. How do you lose her..not just lose her -sacrifice her. She's much too important right?"

The moment had finally come; the Doctor realized when Grace had become a pawn in someone's game. He and Donna had talked about this, but they had pushed it off as long as they could. They made sure what they did was safe, and when it wasn't she was sent to Jack's until it was safe. It was why they worried when she went off on her own. She wasn't just half Time-Lord, she was his. And that wasn't a safe place to be, and he hated himself for it.

"Give me your wife now, and I'll get your daughter to you. You both and that friend of yours can go. Or take your wife and go, and I'll try not to tell your child that you left her here to die."

"Slin, I think that you should think carefully. I brought you down with one Time-Lord brain. You have placed yourself in the path of three. Do you really think you have the upper hand?"

"As long as I have your daughter at the mercy of the Angels, I think I just might."

"I wouldn't underestimate her."

Jack woke first, pulling his head up, his neck feeling stiff. The room was large and empty, and he pulled against his shackles. He was chained to the wall, arms spread and above his head but his feet were on the ground, and while uncomfortable it didn't hurt. He felt warm fingers against his and looked over to Grace who was still hanging limply. He watched her chest rise and fall, and then noticed that she was higher on the wall. She was high enough that her arms were level with his- her feet too far from the floor to relieve the pain of dangling from her arms. Her shoulders were still held tight, so her arms were still in the sockets, though he worried she might pull when she came to.

Her position made him think that she was the one that was supposed to be hurting out of the two. He heard her groan.

"What kind of mood am I going to be in if I open my eyes?" Her voice was impossible cheery.

"I wouldn't call it happy," he offered, thankful that she was awake.

She opened them anyway and then looked to Jack. She pulled against her chains and Jack winced but her face was calm. "You sure know how to treat a lady."

Jack couldn't help the laugh. She didn't seem bothered at all. She was all jokes and smiles, even if there was something below the surface. She had learned that from the best. "Not one of my better dates," he noticed her surprised look at the word 'date' but carried on. "I can admit that. I'll just have to make it up to you."

She just nodded, her smile still in place, but her eyes searching, her mind clearly kicking into gear. "So why do they like you better?" She pulled again on her chains to explain.

"Easy," he murmured worried that she would hurt herself. "I'm not sure."

He felt her words about seeing him soon replay in his mind. "Grace, did you know this was going to happen?"

She didn't look at him, although now it seemed to be on purpose. "Not this exactly." Each word was said slowly.

"Grace?"

She finally glanced at him, "Well, to be fair my version didn't have us shackled to a wall."

"That's funny, that's how I always picture it."

She laughed, "That's my Jack. Nice to have you back."

He was hers? He forgot how to speak for a moment.

"Wait, you offered yourself as bait. That's why we separated."

"Yep," she agreed.

"Do you know what your father is going to do to me? Did you not hear the threat before we left?"

"I'll take care of it, don't worry."

He sighed. She was a wonderful sort of impossible. "Do you have a plan then?" He felt the fear he felt when she asked if he trusted her.

"I wouldn't call it a plan," she opened her hand sliding her fingertips in between his. "Jack, you know I love you right?"

Her mother had said those words to him once, not that he would mention that to her. But his answer was automatic. "Of course, and I love you."

"You said you would make it up to me?"

He felt confused. "I did?"

"The date?"

"Oh," he didn't dare feel hope. "Yeah, sure. Anything you want to do. I'm full of ideas in case you don't have any."

She rewarded him with another laugh. "We can try this as friends, right?"

He forced a smile and reminded himself that he could wait. Where was he going? "Sure."

She stared at the door intently for a moment. "Why this wall, Jack?"

"Why are we chained on this wall? We look better against this shade of gray? Brings out our eyes?"

She smiled. "The door."

He looked at it and it clicked. "So we can see the door."

She nodded pushing her hand into his as much as she could. "I have a feeling; you aren't going to want to blink."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Seriously…I don't feel like I should need to tell anyone I don't own Doctor Who. Like this is what I would be doing if I did..Anyway, rant aside. Just wanted to let you know that there are reasons I believe that the Weeping Angels are telepathic- if you need them let me know- so I'm just not going way off base with this. Not sure why I wanted to say that, Okay. That's it. Hope you enjoy.**

They watched the door, fingers entwined, and he couldn't make himself feel scared. That could have been Grace pushing emotion through their connection, but he suspected it was more just her presence. He should have been running through all the options, anything he could do to protect her. But while he would lay down his life, not that it would stick, for her she was the one who had the answers. He wasn't used to letting someone take the lead, always the one in control, but he felt okay with her.

After sometime, the doors opened, and what Jack knew must be their guards wheeled a Weeping Angel into the room, facing them, hands over its eyes. When they had deposited two more, facing them, but not each other, they left the room again without a word. He watched them intently, eyes starting to burn.

"Whoever got you here, whoever is controlling you, how are they doing it?"

"Grace, honey, they are stone." Jack didn't look at her.

"Shhh. I'm working. Just look pretty." She grinned and though he couldn't see it he knew that she did.

He didn't know if he should be offended. She was something special, more than he had ever seen before. And someday she would be able to build a wall with her mind that no one could break through, but she wasn't there yet. "Grace, really. You're wasting your time."

"Working," she responded and returned her attention to the Angels. "No response. Strong silent type? Well, that's not going to work for me?"

"Grace, don't antagonize the Angels."

"Thought they were stone?"

"Grace," he sighed. She was more stubborn than stone.

"Can't you hear it? Feel it?"

He tried to listen, but didn't hear anything but their breathing. "Not a thing."

"In your head? Like they would like to be in there, but can't make it."

"You're saying their telepathic?"

"Makes since, how else do they work as a group?"

"All right I'll give you that, what's your end game."

"Can't you ever just go with the flow? Why do I have to know the end when I'm still making up the middle?"

And for some crazy reason he laughed. "Sorry, please. Wow me."

"Maybe later." He forgot to breathe again. "You know that they tricked your right? That what you were offered you won't receive. I'll bet that makes you a little mad?"

Silence. "Going well?"

"Shut up," she mumbled. "I'm trying to think. " She paused. "Close your eyes."

"This again?"

"Now," she demanded.

And he did and she did. When they opened them the Angels were closer but still set back. Still being held back by something.

"I can feel it," Jack thought she was talking to him, but she was looking at the Angels. "The only time someone looks at you, and you can't move. So lonely. And I'm sorry for that, but things are going to go a little differently now, okay. When I close my eyes, you are going to move back, arms down."

Jack closed his eyes, before she asked him to and when they reopened the Angels had backed up and their arms were at their sides.

"How did you do that?"

"Get the guards in here, Jack," he voice sounded strained and he looked at her, her face suddenly pale and starting to sweat.

"Grace, stop." He didn't know for sure, but he suspected she had stolen telepathic control of the Angels.

"Guards, Jack."

"Hey, you big idiots. I'd like to see you."

And to his surprise they came in as called.

"They need to let us down, tell them. Make them see." Grace sounded weak and sick.

"She has control of the Angels, now. I think it would be in your best interest to let us down."

The Guards looked at her and for a reason he couldn't fathom they believed them. Or they thought Grace had an illness, but they wanted to leave. One guard undid Jack's chains and he pulled his arms down and grabbed the keys. "I'm only letting you live, because that's what she wants. Go before I stop caring."

As they ran he moved to undo Grace's chains. She slid into his arms, and he tried to hold her there but she shook her head. "I have to look like I'm in control."

He let her go, but stayed close. Her body had warmed rapidly, like a sudden dangerous fever, and when his hands left her she fell to her knees. She rolled away from him, puking in the corner. He squatted down, rubbing her back until she finished. She pulled back, face pale but still undeniable beautiful.

"This is hurting you Grace," he brushed damp hair away from those green eyes. "Please stop. We can do this a different way."

"No," she shook her head. "This is the only way; I have to hold them until I can send them away."

"It's hurting you," he repeated, wanting to take her place, but knowing that he didn't have the capabilities to hold an army of Angels in his mind.

"No," she said again, her voice soft and for the first time a little scared. "I think it's killing me."


	7. Chapter 7

Grace climbed to her feet, letting Jack help her minimally. She looked at the Angels who were looking back at her with a look that could have passed for obedience, and sighed.

"All right, here's what we are going to do…I want you to find the one who brought you here. Not the one that controls you, the one who is here in this town. Do you understand?"

Jack watched her and she nodded to a confirmation that he couldn't hear and moved towards the door, passing the Angels. Jack followed her. "Is it okay to leave them behind us?"

"Can't watch them, don't worry," she tapped her head weakly. "I've got this."

They began the slow walk down the road in the opposite direction, moving back to the center of town. Grace wobbled but kept walking, Jack steadying her every so often. "You can't die, Grace."

She looked at him, "I'll regenerate, I suppose."

Jack wasn't sure why, but that thought bothered him as much as her actually dying. He had gone through it with the Doctor, and though he was the same man, he wasn't quite the same. He didn't want a different Grace. This was the one he loved. "Grace?" The word came out desperate.

She actually stopped now, and turned to look at him, but lost her balance in the process. His hands shot out catching her as she fell and pulling her gently back upright. "Jack, honey,'s okay. "

"I don't want to lose you, Grace."

He could see her searching for a smile, and she pulled it to the surface, just for him. He knew in that moment she would never be too weak to make someone else feel a little better- And that he would love her no matter the change, because she loved him too-somewhere inside, deeper than she could see at the moment. "I'm not going anywhere." She lifted her arms for a hug and he pulled her burning body to him, leaving her feet dangling. Her breath ghosted across his neck and even that was much too warm. He felt soft lips kiss his check and he let her back down. "Come on silly. We've got work to do."

They walked in silence, side by side, but she was leading. She seemed to be following directions that he couldn't hear. She gave a tiny smile to him and opened her mouth to speak but before the words came her eyes closed and she was falling towards the ground. He caught her, and held her to him, but she was limp in his arms, her head laying back. He lifted a shaky hand to her neck, and felt the double pulse beneath his fingertips. He adjusted his arms so that one was holding her around the back and under her arms, planting his feet so that she lay against him, and raised the other to hold her head up. "Not a good time for regeneration, Grace." His voice dropped to a low, urgent whisper. "And this is defiantly not the time to die. So open those impossibly beautiful eyes. You've got an army to send home."

She wasn't breathing he realized, and he didn't know if her bypass had kicked in or if he should be giving her mouth to mouth but before he could decide she sucked in a breath, deep and long, and opened her eyes. She looked up at him, "Is mouth to mouth just an excuse to kiss me, Jack?"

He didn't fight her as she pulled back away from him, "You caught me. I wasn't about to die with worry, just wanted to kiss you. And how in the world can you read my mind when you aren't even breathing? Hardly seems fair."

She grinned at him, face too pale, and covered in a film of sweat, "I'm good like that. Come on. I know where Dad and Mom are, and I'm getting a headache so I'd really like to release the Angels."

The Doctor heard loud movement behind him, and a couple of men screaming, though the words were unclear. He tried to turn but couldn't and it wasn't until he saw fear in Slin's eyes that he realized that it must be the Angels. But if he lost control of them, anything could happen.

"Slin, why did you lose control?"

"I…I didn't have control. They were being controlled by someone else; the telepathy field was being amplified so it could reach Earth."

"So they lost control."

He shook his head. "Someone else has control." He closed his eyes than reopened them. "Someone who seems to want you guys alive."

Donna turned her head speaking the thought that had just entered his head. "Grace?"

"Your daughter?" Slin shook his head. "No. It took me fifteen years to find someone who could do it, and he only agreed to it because he was dying. Because you can't hold an army of Angels and live."

He heard Donna suck in a breath and he turned to her, wishing now more than ever that he could pull her into a hug. He was tied to a chair and his daughter was dying controlling an army of Angels to save them and the town. And if she died, if something happened and she didn't regenerate, he didn't know how he would continue to live. And he suspected that Donna couldn't either. "He doesn't know her, Donna. She's ours, and she is capable of so so much."

"Well, I'll be going," Slin stood. "She may want you alive but I doubt she cares if I live."

He rose but the Doctor shook his head. "She wouldn't kill you; she is so much more, so much better than that."

"You'll forgive me if I don't take that chance." He moved towards the back door behind him, but it opened as he reached it and Jack stepped in grabbing Slin and pushing him back in with one hand the other behind his back. "Sit down," he growled. "And if she doesn't make it, I don't care how much she may not want to kill you, because I will."

He then turned back to Grace, his face returning to a soft expression, eyes filled with unconditional love. "Come on, sweetheart. Mom and Dad need to see you."

Grace stepped in and he and Donna both let out the breath that had been keeping. Donna began to cry when she saw her daughter. "Grace, honey. Please, just let them go."

She studied them, resting her hands on the table, leaning heavily. "Untie them Jack."

He did, and Donna and the Doctor rushed to her, the Doctor spoke. "Now, sweetheart. Let them go."

"They don't want to go back, Daddy." Tears rolled down her face. "They are so alone, and they don't want to go back."

He felt tears filling his eyes too. His daughter would die if she didn't do this, and her only concern was how alone the Angels felt.

"Grace, please." Donna begged her.

Grace looked at her, "He has to leave the building."

Jack grabbed Slin and pulled him from the building. "Okay."

Grace stood still, not breathing, body stiff with concentration. The Doctor held his arms out to catch her when she fell, he could only hope that it wouldn't be because she was dead. He heard the tinniest whisper and it broke and healed his hearts. It made him wonder how he had help to create something so good. "I'm so sorry. So so very sorry. You're never really alone. And thank you, for going." And she was the girl who would die to comfort a lonely monster.

And then she fell into his arms.


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is sad, just so you have been warned. **

Donna had finally fallen asleep; her dreams were all a repeat of what had happened. Without Grace projecting good dreams, she was reminded of what life had been like before her. The Doctor had slept off and on, his eyes red from crying tears he hadn't tried to fight back. Jack had been wandering the TARDIS in a silent daze, trying to forget it all.

In her dreams Grace spoke the softest words, about monsters that deserved to be happy too. In that moment she had wondered how she and the Doctor could create someone so much better than either of them ever had the potentially to be. And she found herself wishing, in a part that she would never share with anyone, that Grace had been just a little more selfish. That maybe there was just a little bit a dark in there that didn't care what the Angels felt, but that was never an option. Grace certainly wasn't perfect but she wasn't unkind or selfish.

Her temper was fire, but most of the time it was slow to come, and fast to leave. Couldn't hold a grudge despite having tried, she had told Donna about a girl that had been mean to her one time when she was left with Jack for a week. But Grace wasn't able to still be mad about it, Donna fought to remember that moment, trying to control her dreams to better times.

"_Mommy," little Grace, maybe six, looked up at her._

"_What, love?" Donna had scooped her into her arms, saying yet another mental thank you for her._

"_A girl told me that I was ugly when I was with Jack."_

_Donna looked down at her, and though she was beautiful in the traditional sense and beyond, she knew that those words still hurt. "What did you do?"_

"_I told her that no one is ugly," she informed Donna, " 'less they act like a Triblentizer."_

"_You called her a Triblentizer ?" Donna wanted to laugh. The poor, mean little thing would have no clue what Grace was talking about._

"_I didn't call her that," Grace shook her head. "I said she was acting like one."_

_Donna sighed and pulled Grace into a tighter embrace. She felt like Grace was smart enough to know that those words meant nothing, but even if her brain was that of a Time Lady, Donna was still her mother. It was her place to make her feel like she was the best thing in the world. "You know that you're beautiful, right?"_

"_Because I know how to be nice," Grace said agreeably, snuggling into her mother. _

"_Yes," Donna agreed. "For that and a lot of reasons."_

"_You're beautiful too, mommy."_

"_Thank you, sweetheart. Are you still mad at the girl?"_

"_Grace pulled out far enough to look at Donna, "Am I supposed to be?"_

"_No," Donna reassured her, but she knew how grudges could be held at the smallest thing. _

"_Good," Grace said her voice dropping as she fought sleep and resumed her position. "I don't want to be, I want her to be beautiful too."_

"_I love you, Grace."_

"_Love you," she murmured into Donnas' chest and Donna knew that she had fallen asleep. She counted her breaths, and felt the double heartbeat against her arm. She would never stop being thankful for her miracle._

She had known then and a thousand other moments that they had taught her too much about how much she should care about others. They had wanted her to show kindness to everyone they met on the travels, but she had taken it farther than they could have imagined. She wished she could have taken a little back, but also knew that she would have done it the same way a million times.

"Donna," the Doctor pulled her from her sleep. "Wake up, love. I brought you some juice."

"Thank you," Donna tried to smile, pushing the sleep from her mind, but hating for the memory to fade.

"You should go lay in bed, Donna."

"I'm fine," Donna shook her head. She wouldn't leave her.

"I'll wake you if something changes, sweetheart."

"Do you think she will?" Donna, looked to her daughters form on the bed.

"Yeah," he agreed though she couldn't tell if he was lying. "She just needs a little more time is all."

"What if she doesn't?" Donna stood from her chair, knowing that she needed to walk if nothing else.

"I don't know," he said honestly looking at the bed. "I really don't know."

Donna kissed his head. "I'm going to find, Jack and check on him. I'll be back."

The Doctor nodded, "Of course. Love you, Donna."

"I love you too," she kissed his head and walked out of the room.

The TARDIS helped her track down Jack, and she found him back to a wall, elbows on his knees. His forehead was resting in his palms and she thought that he might be asleep but he looked up at her. She had never seen him so broken, and she realized she could never really imagine the love that he held for Grace. The love he had carried for twenty five years.

"Anything?"

Donna hated to shake her head no, but she didn't want to lie. She slid down the wall which was warm, it was the TARDIS's way of comforting. Jack didn't ask, he just put his arm around her shoulder and let her rest her head on his chest. She knew he wanted to be the strong one now that she was there but she couldn't let him carry it alone.

"What now, Jack?"

He sighed, warm air ruffling her hair. "We carry on, I guess."

"What if she doesn't…" she couldn't say the words.

She felt his lips and then warm drop hit her head, but she didn't move. He was hurting too, and she wouldn't take away the comfort. "I don't know, honey. How long do we wait?"

"The Doctor won't walk away, as long as there is a chance."

"I don't blame him. Donna, her not being in this world, in our world, it just can't be an option. What is there without her?"

The words reflected her thoughts exactly. Life outside would still go on; there would still be galaxies and plants. There would be things they had never seen and places they had never been, but did that matter. "How do we live?"

"I suppose it isn't an option," Jack murmured. "We have to."


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reads and the reviews. I appreciate it.**

The Doctor had moved to the chair right next to the bed when Donna had left to find Jack. And as much as he didn't want to let her go, to lose sight of her for even a second, he knew that it was needed. He had wanted to check on him also, but found himself pouring juice for Donna. She needed it, but it was just a reason to avoid the look in Jack's eyes, and have to know that his child was the love that caused the pain. He couldn't see such desperation, even avoiding too much eye contact with Donna. He didn't think he could convince his hearts to beat, if he felt even another drop of pain. He had lost children before, and this wasn't something he could do again.

His little girl had died, and though she wasn't little, his adult now, really. She would always, even when she was nine hundred years old herself, be his little girl. The child, the miracle as Donna had always told him, which had changed the way he looked at the universe. She had taken all the hurt and anger he had stored up and made him look at things through innocent eyes. The way he had always wanted to see it all. She had changed him, and he would never take that back. Had he told her that he had loved her before she walked away, had she known?

He had caught her body when she had fallen; the heat was gone in the instant that she fell. She hadn't regenerated, though he wasn't surprised that the trauma had been too much, forcing the body past the point that cheating death was possible. But that hadn't been enough to stop him from breathing air into her lungs, leaning over to pump above one still heart and then the other, as he murmured what could only be called a prayer. And when she had sucked in a breath on her own, he didn't forget a thank you. He thought that she would wake, but even though her chest rose and fell, even though under his hand he could feel the presence of life, she didn't move.

When he had been certain that she was going to remain breathing on her own, he had taken her back to the TARDIS. The trip to the med-bay had only been to confirm what he knew. That there was nothing he could do to help her out of this, that this wasn't a break that he could run a machine over and fix. And he was powerless, and he hated it more than he could ever describe.

And sitting at her bedside he lowered his head against the cool sheets that covered her, and let the tears fall again. He knew, better than Donna, and better than Jack, what was going to happen here. He had climbed into her mind, a gray that had wiped out the light and colors that it was normally decorated with, as if it was a wall painting. And the worst part, more than the gray, was the fact that no matter how hard he tried there was nothing there that he could reach. It was just deep and empty, a tingle of what could still be, but too far away to coax out again.

He had tried to find her in there, as often as he checked her pulse and respiration. If she didn't find her way out then she would simply fade. There was nothing else. Raising his head, he knew that he couldn't give up. If something worked, if she came back, he wouldn't care how many attempts had been made in vain.

He moved to sit beside her on the bed, brushing hair away, wishing and praying and dying inside. He didn't care what he had believed before now, if there was something out there that could see this situation and help her, he would try for her. She looked so peaceful, as if she was asleep. After a few comforting, if only to him, brushes over her hair he moved his hands to her temples. She was too far gone for there to be any kind of resistance, and he moved into it easily.

It was still gray, still empty, and still made him want to vomit. But he pushed past the discomfort, reaching farther and farther until he thought that he would break with the effort. Human minds, though they could be complicated, had an obvious end, but not a Time-Lord brain. It weaved and climbed and dropped and turned every little bit, which he knew was why they could do everything that they could. And the very thing that made her, well her, was what was separating them now.

When he was as far as he could possibly push he saw a faint shimmer in front of him, almost a ribbon dancing in the wind, flashing through colors almost too quickly to identify them. That little ribbon, that too far away glimmer, that he had been searching for every time he looked for the last 36 hours, was the link to his Grace. If he could calm it first, and then pull it from the dark with the mental hand, then he stood a chance of bringing her back.

"Shhh…it's okay." The thought and the words were simultaneous.

He waited to see if the ribbon responded, and thought, though it could just be a wish, that the flashing slowed. He took it as a sign to continue, and though she was very much an adult, that ribbon was his scared little girl and she needed her daddy.

"It's me, Grace. I'm here; can you calm down a little? Just listen to my voice."

And this time he knew that he didn't imagine it, the colors slowing though they still were pulsing. "That's so good, honey. I'm so sorry this happened. Show me green, huh, like on Aberton."

He waited, unsure if she would be able to comply but he was pleased when she paused on the very green he was looking for. "Still there, good. Too strong, aren't you? Can you come and take my hand, Grace?"

And he made the mental offering reaching out the last little bit he could, she was too far to reach so she would have to come to him. When nothing happen he tried again, "I know it's hard, but please Grace. I'll be here. I'll help you, you're not alone, and I'll never leave you."

The color shifted, which was the only indication that she was listening, it turned to a deep blue, TARDIS blue, and flashed the same color. He knew that this couldn't be easy for her to do, even without the fear. It was possible that she was just too far gone, and even that listening little ribbon couldn't make it to him.

"I'm scared too, Grace. Please come back to us."

The flashing stopped though the blue remained. He wondered if she was trying to say good bye. When there was no more movement, and he could feel the sweat beading on his forehead he knew he had to withdraw. But not without telling her, if this was the very last thing that she every heard, that she was loved. "We love you, Grace. I can't imagine this world without you in it, and I just want you to know that you are loved so completely. More than anything else in this universe, your mother and I and Jack love you more."

And he pulled back, too weak to rise he pulled her into his arms, her head resting on his chest and he closed his eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

His eyes popped back open suddenly and it took him a moment to realize why he had woken up, and then he remembered that it was the change in Grace's breathing. At first he was panicked but as he listened and felt her back move with each breath he knew that this wasn't the change of someone who was leaving, but of someone who was coming back. He pulled away, rolling her to lie back on the bed and when he did she rewarded him by opening her eyes.

"Oh, Grace," he murmured, fighting the hug he wanted to pull her into.

He was still worried about what damage there may be within that beautiful, brilliant mind, but he forgot those worries when she gave him a tiny grin. He started to move from the bed but she looked panicked so he held up a finger and she just nodded. He went to grab the glass of water on the bedside table and then returned and helped her sit up slowly. She took the cup and drank in large swallows.

"Dad," she spoke, after she had finished the glass, and handed it back.

"Grace," he tossed the glass in the direction of the table and pulled her close to him. He wanted to tell her how scared he had been but with her head over his hearts he was certain that she knew.

"Leggo," she told him after a moment with a little laugh and he released her with a frown.

"Sorry."

"Silly, Dad," she told him fondly. "Thank you."

He didn't know which part she was thanking him for but he didn't really care. Whatever she thought he had done, whatever he had done would never be too much to save someone he loved. Never too much to save his child, and Grace was his one shot to love someone like that, his gift that he never thought he would have again. Donna was right to call her their miracle because she was the only child that had come from them, and not for lack of trying. And if she was his only child, forever, he was so glad that it was her.

"I'm just so glad your back," he told her truthfully. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she told him, and he couldn't help the tears that rose from the familiar sparkle in her eyes. "Really, I was so lost though. And so scared, but you found me. You didn't leave me there, all alone."

"You remember that?" He wasn't sure that she would as she was so far gone.

"You said that you loved me," she told him, "I love you too, Daddy."

It was then that Donna and Jack burst into the room and Donna pushed the Doctor out of the way, and he was rescued from a fall to the floor by Jack who had found a smile again, and pulled Grace to her with a force that made the Doctor's hug seem like a feather touch.

"Oh, Grace," she spoke into her daughters hair in between kissing her on the forehead. "I love you, honey. I'm not mad, but if you ever try anything like that again, I will ground you to the TARDIS until you are one hundred. You hear me?"

"mmm," was the only response Grace could get out with her head wrapped in one of Donnas arms.

After another moment Donna let her pull back and Grace smiled at her, bright and innocent, "Somebody had to save the day."

"Let your dad," she told her and tossed a smile to the Doctor, who couldn't help but smile back. "He's had a lot of practice. Not that you didn't do a great job. How did you do that, Grace?"

Grace looked around the room and seeing Jack she gave him a wink and the Doctor thought that for a moment Jack looked a little weak. When had his daughter become a flirt, it's not as though he had ever done that sort of thing…well…still. "I don't really know, it was just like I could hear them, feel them trying to get into my mind. So I kind of reversed it." She shrugged of the importance, and the strength it had taken to do it.

Donna just shook her head, and the Doctor thought when Grace was feeling better he would like to hear more about it, but not now. Now was a time for celebration. "Honey," the Doctor pulled her away from Grace gently, and very slowly, because in this moment Donna was protecting her cub. "I think maybe Jack would like to talk to her for a minute."

He wanted to resist this moment, but there was no point. He could see it already, and though it was only a shimmer, there was love in the way they looked at each other.

Jack gave the Doctor a grateful nod but as he stepped to the bed, Grace leaped up and jumped into his arms. He pulled her to him and her feet dangled above the ground but Jack held her strongly. "I love you, Grace."

"Love you too, Jack," she agreed and wiggled enough that he let her down, and she frowned. "Got to go."

The Doctor chuckled as she ran into the bathroom. He was very thankful that she was a Time Lady as it saved him from having to put in a catheter, which he would have done if she had gone too much longer without waking. They all waited until she returned and she blushed. "It's kind of weird to stand outside a bathroom door. Like an audience."

Donna smiled patiently and the Doctor held her hand to keep her from smothering Grace in another hug. "You should just be glad no one followed you in there, honey. I think the three of us might be a little clingy for a little while."

"Is there room in the space between hugs to have something to eat? Ohhh, like banana bread."

Donna looked to the Doctor and repeated the statement she had at the very beginning of this adventure. "That's all you." And the Doctor just beamed. She was his. His and Donnas'. She was loved and she was here, safe with her family.


End file.
